Free Republic

Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez called the criticism regarding Memín “a total lack of respect for our culture.” We agree. Racist caricatures are a beloved tradition in Latin America—and where the hell do Americans get the gumption to attack our stereotyping of J**s, c***s, I****s and n****s? We love ’em—so much, we use them to hawk everything from flour to peanuts. Consider the following products, all purchased at local Latino grocery stores.

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government has issued postage stamps depicting an exaggerated black cartoon character known as Memin Pinguin (search), just weeks after remarks by President Vicente Fox (search) angered U.S. blacks. The series of five stamps released Wednesday depicts a hapless boy drawn with exaggerated features, thick lips and wide-open eyes. His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the subject of kidding by white characters in the comic book, which started in the 1940s and is still published in Mexico. Activists criticized the stamps as offensive, though officials denied it. "One would hope the Mexican government would be a...